


The Start of Something

by kookykoi



Series: Marvel Summer Fun & Fluff Fest [3]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Road Trips, Summer, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-27 04:26:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20039899
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kookykoi/pseuds/kookykoi
Summary: Bucky had the bright idea of going on a road trip. Clint had the brighter idea of going with him.





	The Start of Something

**Author's Note:**

> My next entry for the Marvel Summer Fun and Fluff Fest. The prompt for this was: muggy - road trip - cucumber.
> 
> This hasn’t been beta’d so all mistakes are my own.
> 
> Please leave a like/reblog if you enjoyed this as it motivates me to keep writing.

The car they had hired was muggy, even with the air conditioning on full. Clint fidgeted in the passenger seat, unable to get comfortable as Bucky drove. Clint tried to reason that this road trip was a good idea. This wasn’t a mission but a vacation, a break from the mundane (as mundane as you could get as an Avenger anyway); therefore, Clint should enjoy it and try to relax.

“We there yet?” Clint asked. He was currently sat with his feet up on the dash, one arm dangling out of the window.

“Nah,” Bucky replied. He peered at the dashboard where the GPS that was guiding them was housed. “Got another fifty miles before the next rest stop.”

Clint groaned. Another fifty miles meant at least an hour trapped inside of the car. Another fifty miles meant feeling cooped up and unable to get comfortable. Another fifty miles meant-

“What’re you doing?” Clint asked as Bucky pulled the car over to the side of the road. 

When the car had come to a complete stop, Bucky put on the parking brake and turned in his seat as much as he could so he was facing Clint. “What’s wrong? You’ve been grumpy this whole time, ever since we got off the plane and picked up the car.”

Clint opened his mouth to make some snarky comment about Bucky actually being the grumpy one (seriously, the guy barely cracked a smile) but instead he shrugged one shoulder. “Nothin’,” he said. “It’s just the heat.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes at Clint. “What else?”

“What ‘what else’? I just told you.”

“Uh-huh.” Bucky nodded towards the open window Clint currently had an arm sticking out of. “If you closed that, you’d give the a/c a chance to cool things down. Then maybe you’d stop pouting and go back to cracking ridiculous jokes that revolve around lame puns.”

Again, Clint opened his mouth, this time to defend the honour of his jokes. Except the broad smile Bucky was sporting caused Clint’s brain to malfunction. “Ass,” Clint snapped. He did, however, bring his arm in and closed the window. 

“It was your idea to come on this trip with me, remember?” Bucky said as he shifted back into his seat, put the car into gear and released the parking brake. “You could’ve stayed in New York but no, you insisted you wanted to be here instead.”

“I know, I know,” Clint grumbled.

The car was back to cruising along the highway. Clint folded his arms on his chest and stared out of the window. His mind drifted back to the moment Bucky announced his road trip. Bucky wanted to see the Grand Canyon. He was going to fly out to Arizona and then drive to the National Park. Clint volunteered to come along and ‘keep him company’, even though Bucky hadn’t expressed the need for company. Why had he volunteered? He and Bucky had never been that close after all. 

“Sorry for being a grump,” Clint said eventually. He looked over at Bucky and saw how much more relaxed the guy looked now that they were away from the Avengers and all the drama and baggage that came with them.

“Don’t worry about it,” Bucky said.

Clint angled himself in his seat so he could get a better look at Bucky. “Just out of interest, how are you staying as cool as a cucumber? Why aren’t you grumpier? I thought grumpy was your default setting.”

Bucky smiled and caused Clint’s brain to malfunction again, losing all sense of what he was going to say next. Shit. Was that going to be a thing now? Hopefully not since Clint found himself wanting to see Bucky smile more often. “Partly because my arm is fitted with temperature controls, thanks to the honourable Princess Shuri. And partly because I’m enjoying myself.”

“You’re enjoying driving a car, with a moody asshole, across a sweltering landscape?”

Bucky laughed. He actually laughed. Clint hadn’t thought it possible for Bucky to laugh. “Well, when you put it like that, it sounds crazy.”

It was Clint’s turn to laugh now. “Nah, not that crazy. Not ‘the city is flying and we’re fighting robots’ crazy anyway.”

“Or ‘a guy can shrink down to the size of an ant or grow to be as tall as a skyscraper’ crazy,” Bucky added.

They continued to list off some of the crazier things they had seen over the years, laughing about them now enough distance and time was between them. The last of Clint’s foul mood was chased away by the sound of Bucky’s laughter, a tonic Clint hadn’t known the existence of until now. 

Clint was realising that his feelings towards Bucky were not strictly platonic; they were responsible for him joining Bucky on his road trip after all. But Clint decided to not think about them too much. He’d much rather focus on the now of it all. For example, right now, Bucky’s guard was lower than Clint had ever seen it and that was something Clint knew he should enjoy while he could.

“Gonna say this now,” Bucky said once their conversation had settled into a comfortable silence, except for the gentle whir of the a/c which was now blissfully working. “Thanks for coming with me, Clint.”

Any other time and Clint would have responded with some kind of snarky remark. He had to bite his tongue to stop that response. The words ‘don’t thank me yet’ wanted to be spoken, along with ‘I still might push you into the canyon’. 

“Don’t mention it,” Clint said, despite feeling like that wasn’t enough. A quick glance in Bucky’s direction eased his trepidation since Bucky was still sporting a bright smile. Bucky glanced at Clint too and their eyes met. Clint experienced a mixture of feeling elated and appalled when Bucky winked at him. 

Clint’s feelings for Bucky definitely weren’t purely platonic anymore and he was fine with that. What sent Clint into a mild state of panic was the possibility Bucky might feel the same way too. This road trip could possibly be the start of something huge for the both of them.


End file.
